Asteroid stories circulating the internet have rekindled fears that the Deep Impact plot will play out in real life. Based on NASA projections, there is indeed a chance that such an asteroid will impact Earth this year.

It is 1 in 2,518,072

This number is derived from NASA calculations of the likelihood of a strike by any one of the six substantial Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) whose current course could intersect our planet's the next year. The most likely of the bunch has a 1 in 4,000,000 chance of impacting Earth. In other words, there's a 99.999975% chance the thing will miss the planet, let along you.

What do these numbers mean? Here's some context. Based on National Safety Council data, the chances are less that you will be killed by an asteroid than by the following: